Sanctus - Simon Toyne - Review AND Giveaway

Modern day Turkey - the city of Ruin. Above the city of Ruin is The Citadel - a mountain enclave that houses a group of monks named the Sancti who have protected their secrets for thousands of years. And suddenly one day high on a mountain above The Citadel is a man, standing with his arms outstretched - in the shape of a cross. The world sees him....and sees him fall. And to another group who have been patiently watching the Sancti for hundreds of years as well, it is the sign they have been waiting for.

One group is determined to protect their secrets as much as the other group wants them exposed to the world. Caught up in the conflict is journalist Liv Adamson, the sister of Samuel, the fallen monk.

I enjoy conspiracy thrillers and with Sanctus, Simon Toyne has penned a thoroughly entertaining one. I liked that the two main protagonists were female for a change. There's lots of action and although the plot line is not new, Toyne has put his own twist on it. The promise of discovering what the mystery sacrament was kept me turning pages til the very end. Some plot points seemed a bit far fetched - most notably the reason that the sect did not discover that Samuel had a living relative. But you know, I really wasn't looking for a hard and fast fact based read when I picked up Sanctus.  What I did get was what I expected - an entertaining read. Readers with strong religious beliefs may not enjoy Toyne's alternative views. But fans of James Rollins, Steve Berry and of course, Dan Brown will enjoy it.

Sanctus is the first in a trilogy. I am very curious as to where Toyne will take the characters after the last 40 pages of Sanctus. I'll be picking up the second volume. Sanctus has been translated into 17 languages and will be published in 27 countries!  Read an excerpt of Sanctus or listen to an excerpt. You can find Toyne on Twitter and on Facebook.

And if you'd like a chance at the first book, I have a copy of Sanctus to give away courtesy of William Morrow Books. Simply leave a comment to be entered. This one is open internationally. Ends Saturday, November 26 at 6 pm EST.